Probation and offenders in the criminal justice system

Probation and Offenders

Many people who are convicted of petty crimes are placed on probation instead of being sent to prison. Those who have served time in prison are often released on parole. During probation offenders have to stay out of trouble and meet other requirements stipulated in their probation sheet. Probation officers work together with and monitor the offenders in order to prevent them from committing new crimes. Probation officers supervise the people that have been placed on probation. They supervise these offenders that are on probation through personal contact with these offenders and their families. Instead of the probation officers requesting the offenders to go to them most of these officers meet them in their homes and the places where they are employed or are undergoing therapy. By meeting the offenders where they are, it means that they are less likely to take part in any crime since they will always be expecting a visit from the probation officer. They would always want these officers to find them at their bets and hence this would end up being a routine for them.

They also seek assistance from community organizations like religious institutions, local residents, neighborhoods groups to help in monitoring the behavior of these offenders. The offenders would strive to be on the good books of these community organizations so that they can get good recommendations. In the process they will avoid anything that is crime related and hence they will keep off crime. The offenders would want to get a good review which would prevent them from getting a sentence therefore keeps off crime by all means (Mead, 2012).

Some of them might be required top wear some electronic devices in order for the probation officers to be able to monitor their movement and location. With these electronic devices the probation officers are going to easily track the movements of these offenders. An offender would therefore not dare commit any crime while they have the electronic device on since they would not know when the probation officer would appear. This is a way of preventing the offenders from committing any crime since they know that the probation officer knows where they are and hence would not dare try doing anything wrong. The probation officers might arrange for the offenders to get job training or substance abuse rehabilitation. This helps the offenders get reformed and hence would no longer use substances. They will also be occupied with the job training and hence would not find time to commit any more crimes.

If I were a probation officer I would want to be judged based on the number of offenders under me who go back to crime after probation. The main reason behind probation is to ensure that offenders do not go back to committing crime after probation. Therefore I believe that the only measure that can show I as a probation officer I am effective or not is whether the offenders would go back to crime or not. If most of them end up not committing crime again then I would have been effective (Mead, 2012).